Sweeper.



, Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

Z SHEETS-SHEET l.

Witnesses: j

Attorney.

THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. FHom-LITHQ, WASHINGTON. D L.

A. PEREIRA.

SWEEPER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.22, 1912.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I'n'mmt 1-:

hJ/l/ Alttorne'y.

Wflnessea: QM 7% M NORRIS PETERS C0,, PHQTO-LITHC. WASHINGTON. D c.

inn nnr prion.

ALBERTO PEREIRA, OF MILAN, ITALY, ASSIG-NOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 BETTIE SEG'AL, 0F CINCINNATI, OHIO.

SWEEPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

Application filed August 22, 1912. Serial No. 716,464.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ALBERTO PnRnInA, a subject of the King of Great Britain, resident of Milan, in the Kingdom of Italy, have invented a new and useful Sweeper, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a sweeper of the rotary brush type for cleaning floors, carpets and the like and contemplates an improved sweeper which shall effectively clean diificultly accessible parts of a room, building or other inclosure-parts such as close alongside walls or in the corners where dust and dirt quickly accumulate.

The invention consists in the combination of parts hereinafter claimed, and reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show embodiments thereof.

In these drawings Figure l is a side elevation of one embodiment; Fig. 2 a longitudinal section, and Fig. 3 a front elevation. Fig. A is a side elevation of a modification. Fig. 5 a plan thereof, and Fig. 6 a sectional detail of the dust receptacle. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a further embodiment, and Fig. 8 aplan of one of the lateral brushes.

The sweeper consists of the casing a provided with a cover 7) which is hinged thereto at 0. The casing a is supported by two wheels 03 whose axle d is suitably journaled therein, and also by a guide-wheel e which is mounted between the arms of a bracket c held in position by means of two collars 7 or the like secured to the front of the casing. If desired, the arrangement may be reversed and the trailing wheels located at the front and the guide-wheel at the rear of the easing such as hereinafter described (see Figs. 4c, 5 and 7). Inside the casing is arranged a dust receptacle 9 which can be inserted or removed by opening the cover 6 of the casing. The dust receptacle is formed at its rear with an opening m as shown in Fig. 2 which can be closed by means of an articulated door h which is hinged to the receptacle at h and adapted to be turned back to rest upon the top of the receptacle between the same and the casing. As illustrated irthis figure the dust receptacle is formed with an upwardly turned hooked extension piece 9 which serves to prevent the dust and dirt from falling out of the receptacle. The casing 64 at its rear extends downwardly to within fairly close proximity to the ground, thereby forming a rear chamber m which is preferably separated from the front interior chamber m containing the dust or dirt receptacle, by means of a depending partition Z which extends down approximately half the height of the chamber at that point. Within this chamber m is mounted a rotary brush is of any suitable construction, whose axle k is journaled in the side walls of the casing a and in such position that the under portion of the periphery of the brush bears on the ground with sufficient friction to remove the dust and dirt in an efiective manner. The brush is also so mounted as to be located with its front portion close up against the rear opening of the receptacle and if the partition Z is provided, with said brush slightly in contact with its lower edge. Any suitable contrivance can be adopted to regulate the position of the brush axle to compensate for wear.

The rotary brush is is driven from the trailing wheels d by means of the meshing of a gear z on-the wheel axle with a pinion n on the brush axle and the direction of rotation of the brush is in opposition to that of the wheels. At the front of the machine, arranged one on each side thereof, arms 79 are pivotally mounted on a pin 0 secured to the casing a so as to be capable of being turned upwardly (Fig. 3) when not required for use. These arms at their forward ends are provided with auxiliary brushes 1 of rightangled triangular shape, which brushes are so designed as to clean the corners of the room and the edges of the floor and adapted in their operation to force the dirt or dust toward the center portion of the sweeper and in the path of movement of the rotary brush which in revolving sweeps it into the receptacle.

The modification illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, as compared with the preceding embodiment, differs in that it comprises a plurality of front or leading wheels (Z and a guide-wheels 6 located at the rear of the casing, the brush 70 being driven by means of a cross belt drive extending from the leading wheels (Z to the grooved pulleys n on the brush axle. The bifurcated arms of the bracket 7 supporting the guidewheel passes through a collar or the like 7 secured to the casing and is held therein. As shown, the leading wheels are grooved also to accommodate the belt.

llil

The top of the casing is flat and has the cover 6 hinged at c and extending to its front face. In this embodiment the cover is more nearly of rectangular forma tion than that in the previous embodiment. The dust receptacle 9 as shown in Fig. 6, is formed with a rear hook extension it which is shaped to conform substantially to the periphery of the rotary brush and to lie in close proximity thereto so as to assist in the collection of the dirt and dust and by virtue of the formation of such extension to prevent effectively the dust from falling out of the receptacle, thereby rendering the action of the brush as eflicient as possible. The auxiliary lateral triangular brushes q are pivoted at 79 to the arms 7) which are themselves pivoted at 793 to the wall of the casing. The provision of small springs r permits the brushes to yield slightly. At their forward ends and on the upper part thereof. the brushes are provided with small wheels 8 which function as guide-wheels in the sense that they make contact against the walls of a room so as to allow the lateral brushes to follow exactly the configuration of the walls of such room or other inclosures being swept. The sweeper is moved backward and forward as in the previous case by means of a handle t preferably pivotally secured to the upper part of the casing.

In Fig. 7 the casing a is given a still different shape, with its lower edge at almost in contact with the ground and its front face a disposed substantially perpendicularly. The cover 6 is similar to the cover I) in Figs. t and 5, being hinged at 0 to the upper rear portion of the casing. The arrangements of the drive from the leading wheels d to the rotary brush k and of the lateral brushes are quite similar, the only distinction being that in Fig. 7 catches a are provided to hold the arms 79 in their lower operative position, but of course it will be quite obvious that it is well Within the scope of the invention to provide such catches in the other forms shown and described.

In Fig. 8 the lateral brush (1 is shown in greater detail, it being of the shape of an isosceles triangle but otherwise similar to that described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. It will furthermore be apparent that in the embodiments referred to it is quite an optional measure as to whether a partition is employed to separate the front interior space of the casing from the rear interior space thereof.

What I claim is:

A sweeper of the kind described comprising in combination an outer casing; a dust receptacle removably fitted therein; a plurality of wheels supporting said casing and receptacle; a rotary brush adapted to sweep foreign matter into said receptacle; driving means for said rotary brush; a plurality of lateral auxiliary brushes located at the front part of said casing and adapted to divert foreign matter on the floor into the path of the rotary brush; means to allow said lateral auxiliary brushes to be swung into an inoperative position; springs attached to said lateral brushes and to the means whereby said auxiliary brushes are swung into an inoperative position, and a small freely rotatable wheel fitted at the front ends of said lateral brushes and adapted to contact with the walls of the inclosure being swept.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

ALBERTO PEREIRA.

Witnesses:

B. CARLO SALvo'rm, Honrono LAZZARE.

qopiee of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. c." 

